Phlox:Harmony
by kiheitai
Summary: It all started when a certain Don paid a visit to her family's flower shop. She sent him a Flax as gratitude, but to her surprise, he replies her message with another bouquet and before she realizes it, they were corresponding with petals. GiottoXOC


_Prince or pauper, beggar man or thing_  
><em>Play the game with ev'ry flow'r you bring<em>  
><em>Dandelion don't tell no lies<em>  
><em>Dandelion will make you wise. Tell me if she laughs or cries<em>  
><em>Blow away dandelion<em>

_Rolling Stones - Dandelion_

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><p><strong>Phlox: Harmony<strong>

**Chapter 1: Campion - "Though poor and lowly, I dare to admire you."**

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><p>Maria Cipriano stared through the nearly broken down window frame with disinterest as she stripped an appalling white Carnation of its petals absentmindedly. The warm glow of the bright sun did not go well with her mood unlike the rest of the people in town: busy and energetic, running around in all directions running errands. As the last petal glided to the ground, she sighed and slumped back to the tall wooden stool near the counter in her family's flower shop.<p>

Maria did not see the point in any of these though. After all, the flower shop was created back at the time of her grandmother, who had this peculiar interest in flowers, and throughout it's years of existence, the shop was never renovated, causing it to look as it's age: molded cracked walls, decaying wooden framework, and even the door was falling off from its hinge nearly every minute. Maria wouldn't be surprised if it were to break completely one day.

And there was the fact that none of the people in the township would grace their shop with their presence. It did nothing but only cover up her family's little money with its expenses and its tax. Her family knew that soon enough, when they've got no money to pay to the town government, they would sure go back as slaves and serve his lordship once again.

Such was the reason why her parents decided to dress up in their best clothes and go to Aunt Letizia, a grumpy snobbish woman who was her mother's sister who married a rich man and is living a comfortable life up the townhouses, to formally burrow money to pay this week's tax. And then one way or another, Aunt Letizia would find a way to make them more miserable by increasing the amount of payment she will demand when she comes by to collect their debt.

Maria breathed a sigh of boredom before leaning her elbow against the counter and her chin in her palm. She looked down at the Carnation stem expectantly as if she expected it to perform a show that will keep her entertained. Feeling rather ridiculous, she picked it up and tossed it aside.

"I would be better off spending my time somewhere else." She muttered to no one in particular and then proceeded to let her forehead meet the edge of the wooden counter, "Bionca did tell me that there is a new shop in town which sells cheap yet fashionable dresses. I could've bought it, and sold it for a higher price."

"But no," She abruptly sat bolt erect on the stool, hitting her head in the wall behind her in process. She rubbed her head gently to ease the pain as she throw a look around the shop to make sure no one had heard her sudden outburst. What was she thinking? There was no one around the proximity of the shop!

"Mother and father could've send me off an errand just like the others outside." She said more quietly this time. "Just how can mother bear this kind of life every day?" she stood up in frustration and walked over to the rack of yellow colored flowers with cross-shaped stigma, the Evening-Primose, and plucked one. She should just go back to shredding petals again, not too many, as her mother would be bound to notice and she would definitely be prohibited from going outside for a few days, but enough to make a mess for her to have something to clean later on. For now, anything that can provide her with something to work at is satisfaction.

In a sudden moment, the door fell off with a loud thud on the ground. As Maria turned her head to the direction of the door, thinking that she would have to fix it back to its hinge once again, she was greeted by a panting woman clutching her heart as if she just ran around the whole town.

"Maria!" the girl with the blonde hair called as she walked inside the shop, paying no heed to the poor door she marched into. She was roughly twenty two years of age, with wavy blonde hair and sea blue eyes. Her face was damp with anxiousness, and her pink woolen skirt and green twill bodice, which Maria always sees straightened and smooth, was wrinkled to a great extent.

Maria tilted her head in a mixture of confusion and surprise, "Bionca? Why are you looking so flustered?"

In response, the other girl grabbed her shoulders and shook her harshly. "Why am I so flustered?" she repeated and wobbled her once more with the same intensity, "Why am I so flustered? Who wouldn't be worried in this situation?" she hollered feverishly before letting go of her with equal force and shooting her a disapproving look.

Maria just blinked at her; she wondered could she have possibly done to make her mad, but she came up empty. She did not promise to meet her at town today, in fact she told Bianco to go see the shop alone, for she was supposed to stay in the shop. They did not arrange a meeting, but Maria felt like she still found a method to pat her off the wrong way. It was not a surprise.

Startled, Maria almost yelps in half pain and half in surprise if she didn't cover up her own mouth before she could release a scream. She looks accusingly at Bionca who has her arms across her chest and her blue eyes shooting daggers at her.

"God, Maria, _perché sei così spensierato_**[1]**?" Bionca sighs hysterically, running her hands through her hair. "Do something about your appearance! If he sees you like that, it will be absolutely humiliating!"

"Calm down for a moment, Bionca." Maria gripped her friend's shoulders this time, yet she only shook her gently, as to bring her back to her reason. "Who will see me like this, and why do you look like you have run around the whole town?"

When her friend seemed to calm down, Maria let her go and led her near the counter. Bionca sat up in the stool while Maria pulled herself up and sat at the desk.

"You see, I was looking over the dresses in the shop. Oh, they are absolutely splendid! But then on my way home, I saw a crowd looking over something. I knew something was amiss. And I saw it! I saw him seated on a carriage!" She explained, squealing giddily at the end.

Maria frowned, "him?"

Her friend nodded, all the hysteria from earlier seem to have left her mind at a flash. "Yes! He is dashingly handsome! Oh, Maria, his hair looks as if it was spun from gold!"

"Is that all?" Maria raised an eyebrow, slightly interested at her friend's stage disposition this day. Whoever that man is must be really handsome and rich to be caught to Bionca's eye, you could say that this man is unfortunate too… if Bionca gets her hands on him that is.

"No, that is certainly not all!" Bionca stood up and pulled Maria away from the desk. Maria let out a small yelp before landing on her two feet on the ground.

"He is Signore Giotto! The Vongola Don! I heard a man said that the signore is going to pass by all the flower shops in the township. And then I immediately ran here! And look what I see!" She brought her hands up to Maria for emphasis, "You look like you have just risen up from bed. Your hair is a mess, your clothes are crumbled, if the signore sees you, you will be the laughing stock of the town!"

Unconsciously, Maria tried to comb her hair with her fingers in a poor attempt to be in favor of her friend. But Bionca shook her head violently, dragged Maria towards her, and combed her chestnut brown hair using a hairbrush she somehow brought with her. Maria occasionally yapped when Bionca brushed her tangles hair with such a strong force it gave her a feeling that her friend was trying to pull all of her hair from her scalp.

"_Essere_ tranquillo!**[2]** What would people think if they hear you?" Bionca hissed as she finally tossed the comb in the counter, when Maria inspected the hairbrush, she saw an awful lot of brown hair in it. Disgusted, she shoved it in the cabinet under the counter.

"Oh, Bionca, do not excite yourself too much. Surely, the signore will not even spare a glance in this shack; much less grace it with his presence." Maria tried to reason with her friend, who was busy on her hysterics about Maria needing to change clothes, but with not enough time.

"Don't be too humble, Maria. The signore is very kind. He would not judge this place no matter how…" she paused for a while to think for a better word, "shabby it is."

Maria snorted. While it could be possible that the signore is exactly like what Bionca says, she knew the signore would most likely mistake their shop as a house of a commoner with extravagant flower decorations. But then there is also the possibility that the Bionca is being who she is, and quickly assuming that rich and handsome people positively possess the kindness of heart, something which is likely impossible these times. Unlike the women of her age, Maria knew how wealthy people operated, especially in their town, where the people are handled with injustice and money with greed.

But deep down, Maria cannot help but hope to see the signore walking inside their shop, if he bought something; it would certainly bring about a wholesome dinner for their family.

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><p>Giotto strode out of the large doors of the last flower shop in town. He casted a look around him and saw the town people looking at him in awe and admiration, like they rarely see a powerful man walking around the streets so casually.<p>

"Is there any further help I can give, sir?" The shop owner bowed his head at the Don, who looked at him in deep thought. "Is this really the last flower shop in this town?" Giotto politely asks. The shop owner jump back in surprise, as if he was not used to wealthy people talking to him without berating him in any kind of way.

"T-there is another!" He exclaimed. "But it is wrecked, very old. None of the people in the township ever visited the shop since the original owner died."

Giotto considered this. It would be rude of him not to include the shop, no matter how old it is. Thanking the owner for the information, he then asked for the directions of the particular shop, then returned to the carriage to make his way there.

This commotion started when Asari Ugetsu said that they needed to redecorate the mansion, which looked bland with all the murky colors the wallpaper provided despite the unspoken rule to always widely open the curtains to provide the mansion with enough sunlight, much to the annoyance of Dameon Spade, but his interjection went unnoticed. Finally, Lampo suggested they decorate it with flowers. And some of the guardians (G, Asari, and Knuckle) happily voted in and agreed while the rest frowned in disagreement (Dameon) and left the ridiculous crowd gathering (Alaude).

Giotto sighed. All he saw was people randomly shoving flowers in a bouquet without considering their meaning. He guessed that they must be arranging it to what would look good, earning them more money to survive in such a greedy world. But Giotto was a man who valued emotions and significance, so what he was looking for, is someone who knew very well what the flowers mean. He might sound particular, but that's just is what he is after all.

Then the carriage stopped, Giotto looked through the windows in hopes of seeing the exterior of the shop. It was a better than he expected, but it really looked ancient. The footman opened the carriage, and Giotto stepped outside. The first thing he noticed was the displayed pots of flowers sitting the window-frame: Anemone, Japanese Camellia, Celandine, and Elderflower.

_Unfading love, Unpretending excellence, Joys to come, Compassion_

Giotto smiled gently as he paced through the open doors of the nearly-dilapidated shop.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, okay, I know I shouldn't make a story I probably won';t continue one way or another, but I don't have any ideas for my other stories, and this sort of came to my mind when our teacher gave us The "Language of Flowers" as a book report. And yes, I am perfectly aware that it is observed in the Vicotrian era, but let's take it to Italy too. **

**Er... I don't know if I did Giotto's character well, but he strikes me as a man who counts the meaning rather than appearance, I don't know... I just do. So tell me if he became OOC, while I'll try hard not to make him to.**

**Reviews are appreciated as always. Insert usual disclaimer here because I'm to lazy to write one.**

**~Translations!(I used google translate by the way, so i'm not really sure...)**

**1 - Why are you so carefree?**

**2- Be quiet!**

**Peace out.**


End file.
